Hannah Jones

AP English P. 2

Research Paper

3/8/13
Illegal Ivory Trade
Extinction rates have jumped massively in the last few years from one to two species going extinct per year to currently up to ten disappearing off of the face of the Earth per year. This problem seems to be getting worse and worse every year. In Africa, the elephants are disappearing rapidly. With such a fast rate, scientists believe all elephants will be extinct by the year 2035. In the 1980s, there were over a million elephants in the population; today there are less than 470,000.
Illegal poaching seems to be the greatest cause of the loss of these animals because of the value that their ivory tusks have in the market. Are we just going to let all of the African elephants die for the selfish wants and need for an immaterial item of other people?
Poaching is the illegal hunting, killing, or capturing of wild animals. Examples of poaching include hunting without a license or permit, use of a prohibited weapon or trap, hunting at the wrong time of the year, and hunting in a sanctuary or reserve, national park, or zoo. Poachers usually only take a very small part of the killed animals letting the rest of the animal carcass to rot and waste away.
The ivory trade is highest today in Africa, China, and Japan with the U.S. Following right after. The demand for ivory is still on the rise. Ivory sculptures are common in the Asian culture, as well as ivory handles for guns and knives. Jewelry and piano keys are also often made from ivory.
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In 1989, a ban was issued on ivory imports because the death rates of elephants was so high at that time. Before the ban, 70,000 elephants were being killed per year for their tusks. This ban nearly halted poaching for their tusks. In 1989, the death rate was 7.4 percent per year. Currently, the death rate of elephants is 8 percent. The percentage has obviously increased since the ban was issued – the complete opposite of what should happen. Public attention to this problem nearly stopped all deaths of the elephant, but since then attention has been less focused on them, so the rates have been rising greatly again. If more people learn about the illegal ivory trade and give the issue more attention and publicity from what is just on the internet, there is a chance that the deaths can be stopped like they did before.

“If the trend continues, there won't be any elephants except in fenced areas with a lot of enforcement to protect them,” said Wasser, the author of a paper in the August issue of Conservation Biology that contends elephants are on a course that could mean most remaining large groups will be extinct by 2035 unless renewed public pressure brings about heightened enforcement. Wasser continues saying, “Public support stopped the illegal trade back in 1989 and can do so again.”

The ban was enforced by the, “Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora,” known as CITES. They regulate trade of endangered threatened species. The group had tried once before to place a ban on ivory trade in 1975, but
Johnson 3 the ban was not enforced until 1989 when it was estimated that 90 percent of all “legal ivory” was poached from elephants.
With today's technology, we can determine the location and elephant families that a piece of ivory came from. Making it easier to maximize law enforcement and protection in those areas, reffered to as “hot spots” by Wasser. Evidence gathered from recent ivory seizures show that the ivory is coming from targeted specific areas not over a broad geographic range.
Scientists can only determine where the ivory came from. It is very difficult to place a date on when the ivory was collected, and so many ivory dealers claim that their ivory was retrieved before the 1989 ban. If one of the most advanced wildlife forensics laboratories in the world (USFWS) has a hard time distinguishing differences in ivory, not being able to tell if it is legal or illegal, ivory trade cannot be accurately enforced, so therefore, thousands of ivory items enter the U.S. every year undetected.

“The work with DNA sampling allows us to focus law enforcement on poaching in hot spots. It forces countries to take more responsibility for what goes on within their borders, and it also gives us more insight on where to look so that, hopefully, we can stop the poachers before the elephants are killed.”

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regulates fishing and hunting for the United States (USWFS). They also watch imports and exports of any animal product to verify whether they are legal or not. In the entire country, there are only 95 USFWS inspectors, not nearly enough
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Since there are so few enforcements on the imports into the United States, and the use of the internet, selling illegal ivory into the United States via the internet throughout the world is as easy as the click of a button. Ebay has no restrictions on ivory sales, and sellers and buyers stay anonymous making it almost impossible to get caught. If the law does happen to catch you, punishment is at worse a fine and a small jail sentence. But the majority of the time, the only punishment is that your item will be confiscated. Most encounters with the laws can easily be avoided with some forged documentation claiming that the ivory is “legal.”
History shows that hunting was not always just to make a profit. Four-thousand years ago, hunting was used as a way to survive. It was once the only way to get food, and clothing was made out of skins and hides. In some cultures, certain animals are used to make medicines with “healing powers,” others are used for religious reasons. Some are believed to contain “magical powers” to bring good luck to the people. A few of these cultures exist today and cannot follow their traditions or beliefs because of the ban. Poachers influence many different cultures by breaking the laws and also influence human and animal populations by continuing to kill.
We have an estimated twelve years left to save what is left of the elephant population from extinction. All we have to do is raise awareness of the problem and do everything we can to stop the poaching in the world. Taking small steps such as informing friends, avoiding ivory products, and spreading the word can help to slow the demand for ivory and, hopefully, give elephants a fighting chance to make a comeback.